Fast Retailing Co., operator of the Uniqlo casual-clothing store chain, said Monday its sales soared 13.7 percent in June from a year earlier on a same-store basis, the first rise in five months.
It attributed the surge in part to its strategy of promoting casual lines of business wear in step with the government's campaign to get the nation's workforce to adopt casual summer clothes under the slogan "Cool Biz."
With this in mind, Fast Retailing pushed such clothes as button-down shirts and trousers featuring moisture-absorbent materials, it said.
The company also cited the popularity of the Body Tech brand sportswear it developed in conjunction with Keio University. Another help during the reporting month was the scarcity of rainy days on weekends. The number of shoppers at Uniqlo shops in June increased 9.8 percent over the same month last year, it said.